STOCKTON - A suspected Southeast Asian gang member will be tried for the Stockton murders of 30-year-old Lowell Thornton and 33-year-old Khamsuk Thammala, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Bobby Suriyan, 20, faces a potential life term in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of the murders.

"We think, and the Stockton Police Department thinks, he is a very dangerous individual," Deputy District Attorney Robert Himelblau said. "The only motives in these cases are gang related. They don't fit the traditional motive of robbery, self-defense or even anger."

Suriyan was arrested in June, about 11 hours after Thammala was fatally shot near Mosher Slough and Kennedy Elementary School.

In that shooting, a 21-year-old individual was struck by bullets, but that victim's injuries were not life threatening.

Authorities said the incident was gang related. Suriyan is believed to be a member of Loc Town Crips.

With Suriyan in custody, authorities also connected him to Thornton's fatal May 1, 2010, shooting. He was a juvenile at that time.

Suriyan and Thornton argued at a house party and the defendant fired shots at Thornton, Himelblau said.

A wounded Thornton was found in an alley between Acapulco and Santa Paula ways. Thornton was not a documented gang member.

In addition to the murder charges, Suriyan also faces gang and gun enhancements. A San Joaquin County Superior Court judge decided to send Suriyan to trial after hearing a sample of evidence at a preliminary hearing Wednesday.